|
Bolasky paints
masterpiece, Bulls win 1-0
Tyler Lehman's RBI single was just
enough support for "Bo" as Limeport gets to the Finals.
LIMEPORT
-- Scott Bolasky picked up his 50th Trico
regular season win on May 15 of this season, a 2-0 win over Boyertown at
Limeport Stadium. He threw a complete-game 3-hitter.
Pretty good performance for a milestone
win.
He did himself, and heck, Pablo Picasso, one better Sunday night
at the fabled stadium.
In what has to be the biggest win in his
Trico career, Bolasky tossed a 3-hit shutout in Game 5 to defeat the Northern
Yankees 1-0 to advance the Bulls to the Trico Finals for the first time since
2000.
"[Bolasky] told me [Saturday] night that
there is no way he is losing this game," said Limeport manager Pat Lane. "That
is the best that I have ever seen him throw."
How good was Bolasky?
The Yankees only got one runner to
second base in the entire game. And that was the result of an infield overthrow.
Yankees' starter Caleb Calarco wasn't
exactly chopped liver on the mound. He only allowed four runners into scoring
position the entire game. Unfortunately for him and the Yankees, one of those
four crossed the plate.
That lone run scored in the top of the
sixth when Dan Hemberger drew a full-count walk to start the inning. Ben Swatsky
ripped what looked like a certain single to right, but second-baseman Henry
Concepcion made a diving stop in the hole and then, to the surprise of many, got
up and whirled towards second and got Hemberger by a whisker for the first out.
Swatsky then got a huge jump off first and stole second without even drawing a
throw and that was big because now Limeport had two chances to get him in for
the game's first run. And on chance #2, Tyler Lehman blooped a 1-1 pitch to
short-center to plate Swatsky from third and the Bulls led 1-0.
And Bolasky made that lone run stand up.
"I got ahead in the count all night and
kept the pitch count low," said Bolasky. "I had both pitches working and was
able to throw the curveball whenever I needed to. I felt like I could hit any
spot."
An old baseball adage states that "Momentum
is only as good as your next starting pitcher".
Or perhaps, in this series, only as good
as your opponent's next starting pitcher, because the Yankees appeared to have
all the momentum after dropping the first two games of this series. They staved
off elimination with a thrilling extra-inning win on Friday and then shellacked
the Bulls 14-3 on Saturday. Other than Bolasky, there probably were not too many
people who thought the Bulls were going to bounce back and win Game 5.
"[The loss] is just disappointing," said
Yankees manager Brian Polaha. "This series is a microcosm of our season. It was
a rollercoaster season. We were just too inconsistent. We hit well and look
great one day and then lay an egg the next day. We hit a ton of balls hard and
had good at-bat after good at-bat on Saturday and then we can't get a run
tonight."
"Give [Bolasky] credit," Polaha
continued. "He threw strikes."
"[Bolasky] went right at them," said
Lane. "He's a veteran and a gamer."
Sunday concluded an exhausting 11-day
stretch where these two teams played against each other seven times. The league
office was also busy as the teams battled through "Tarp-gate" after the first of
the seven games and then "Bo-gate" after the sixth game.
Which makes one wonder whether Limeport
has anything left in the tank to take on Gabelsville after this emotional 11-day
stretch?
"This is a great group of guys to
manage," said Lane. "Everybody hustles. Everybody is in the game mentally. The
great thing about this team is that every pitcher wanted the ball tonight," said
Lane.
And with all those options, it is obvious that Lane made the
right choice by sending Bolasky to the hill on Sunday.
Mike Fignar was 2-for-3 for the Yankees
(22-13). Limeport (23-12) now moves on to face Gabelsville (27-7) in the Finals
on Tuesday at 5:45 at Lee Mecherly Field.
|
